Tabcorp confirms WA TAB interest

Tabcorp has confirmed it is interested in acquiring the Western Australian government-owned TAB, on the same day it announced a 642 per cent rise in profit stemming from its $11 billion merger with Tatts Group.

Tabcorp’s profit for the six months to December was $182.5 million, compared to 24.6 million in the previous corresponding period.

For the period its revenue was up 108.3 per cent to around $2.79 billion.

The growth was factored-in by analysts, as it was due to Tabcorp increasing its income and cost savings from the Tatts Group merger.

Just over 14 months after its merger with Tatts Group was approved, TAB WA is increasingly shaping up to be an acquisition target for Tabcorp.  

A spokesperson for Tabcorp told BusinessNews the company would be interested in acquiring WA TAB, once the state government had finalised the sale process.

“We have indicated we would be interested as it is an opportunity where we could bring our strong track record of working with racing industry and retail stakeholders to Western Australia,” the spokesperson said.

In October the state government announced it would proceed with the sale of TAB and introduce a new 15 per cent consumption tax on all betting in the state.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley estimated a value of $280 million for the betting agency.